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On Our Radar

Financials Up After Fed Move -- Financials Roundup

Banks, lenders and other financial companies rose slightly after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates slightly. Higher rates would benefit banks' interest margin -- or the difference between the interest they pay on deposits and that they on loans. As widely anticipated, the Fed said it would raise short-term interest rates by a quarter-of-a-percentage-point and gave greater detail on its plans to shrink its $4.5 trillion portfolio of bonds and other assets this year. The Fed's plan would start reducing the holdings by allowing a small amount of net maturities per month -- $6 billion in Treasury securities and $4 billion in mortgage bonds -- and to allow that amount to gradually rise each quarter. Traders are trying to discern whether relatively weak inflation data will eventually slow the Fed's hand. The central bank left their rate targets or "dot plot" unchanged in their policy statement, but reduced inflation expectations, said Charlie Ripley, Investment Strategist for Allianz Investment Management, in a statement.